The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service has allocated over $3.8 million to support the recovery of two endangered butterfly species native to the Bay Area: the San Bruno elfin butterfly and the mission blue butterfly. These species, found from South San Francisco to Redwood City, are the focus of a comprehensive recovery plan aimed at restoring their populations, the Fish and Wildlife Service stated.
The funding will support a range of recovery actions including habitat restoration, annual surveys of the butterflies and their food plants, invasive plant management, and increased seeding of food plants, the Fish and Wildlife Service stated. Additionally, research on these butterfly species will be conducted to further aid their recovery.
This investment is part of a broader $20 million initiative by the Wildlife Service to support endangered species across four groups: Hawaiian and Pacific Island plants, butterflies and moths, freshwater mussels, and southwest desert fish, the Fish and Wildlife Service stated.